China and Russia Will ‘Speak with a Unified Voice in Global Affairs’

March 30, 2022 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi held talks today in the city of Tunxi, in the eastern Chinese province of Anhui, where they agreed that Russian and China “speak with a unified voice in global affairs.” The two foreign ministers met on the sidelines of the third Meeting of Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan’s Neighboring Countries on March 31.

Speaking at the meeting of the two ministers, Wang Yi said: “The desire of the two sides to develop bilateral relations has become even stronger; so has the confidence to promote cooperation in various directions. The Chinese side attaches great importance to this,” he stressed.

According to TASS, Wang added that he was ready to work together with his “old friend” Sergey Lavrov to promote the implementation of the agreements reached by the leaders of the two countries, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, to take China-Russia relations of comprehensive partnership and strategic cooperation to a new, higher level in a new era.

For his part, Lavrov said:

“We are living through a serious stage in the history of international relations. I am convinced that the outcome of this stage will substantially clarify the international situation. We will move towards a multipolar, equitable and democratic world order with you and other like-minded nations.

“We are interested in ensuring the sustainable and consistent development of our relations with the People’s Republic of China, as agreed by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping.

“Today, we will review specific steps to ensure that all these agreements are implemented.

“Dear friend, I am happy to speak with you, especially in this wonderful province. I have already been to many provinces in China, and all of them evoke sincere admiration.”

He briefed Wang Yi on the state of negotiations with Ukraine and underlined that Russia was committed to de-escalating tensions and would pursue peace talks and maintain communications with the international community on the issue.

Wang Yi reiterated China’s position on encouraging a multipolar world and adhering to the principles of the UN Charter. He declared that the Ukraine crisis had a complex history and that it was only the outbreak of the long-term accumulation of security conflicts in Europe that led to the crisis, as well as the Cold War mentality which continues to live on. “Under the current situation, we support Russia and Ukraine to continue the peace talks despite difficulties, support the positive results achieved so far in the negotiations, support the cooling of the situation on the ground as soon as possible, and support the efforts made by Russia and other parties to prevent a large-scale humanitarian crisis.”

“In the long run,” Wang continued, “we should learn the lessons of the Ukraine crisis, respond to the legitimate security concerns of all parties based on the principles of mutual respect and indivisibility of security, and build a balanced, effective and sustainable European security architecture through dialogue and negotiation, so as to achieve long-term stability in Europe.”

A joint statement issued after the talks reported:

“The foreign ministers of both countries stated that in light of the challenging international situation, Russia and China continue to strengthen their strategic partnership and speak with a unified voice in global affairs. It was agreed to further bolster foreign policy coordination, enhance cooperation on the bilateral track as well as in various multilateral formats.”

The importance of the relationship was also underlined at the Foreign Ministry briefing the same day, where spokesman Wang Wenbin stated: “There is no ceiling for China-Russia cooperation, no ceiling for us to strive for peace, no ceiling for us to safeguard security and no ceiling for us to oppose hegemony.”